Rush
by LonelyButLovely
Summary: This ridiculous group of merry mutants loves to joke but their pasts tend to differ...
1. Chapter 1

I stared at my bloody claws wondering what I did. The alarms were blaring loudly which added to the din created by panicking White Coats. I heard faint clicks and looked below me, observing the small objects they called guns. I lifted myself higher and escaped up above the clouds. I breathed in the air.

"We made it Mimi," I whispered hovering above the clouds. "We're free."

I closed my eyes and remembered the words she said earlier.

* * *

**.:Flashback:.**

* * *

"There you go," Mimi said with a smile.

"Thanks," I murmured.

"Now, now," Mimi said tightening my scarf. "You have to be louder than that."

"Thanks." I said slightly louder.

She stepped back and smiled at me, observing her work. "As pretty as a doll, right Lulu?"

I looked down at my new outfit. I now wore black jeans and a smoky colored sweatshirt hanging loosely over a white tank top. She made me put on black running shoes and tied up my hair and finally threw on a cream-colored scarf.

"Look at that," Mimi gushed. "You're the prettiest thing here!"

I eyed the bandages covering my wrists covering the wounds created from the numerous needles the White Coats stuck in me. Mimi made a tsking sound and I looked back up.

"Look up here, dear," she said gently. "Don't worry about those silly things. Now, Lulu, one day we'll both be free. And you can touch the sky. It's beautiful and spacious- "

"Ms. Mimi, we need you in the fourth division," a young White coat stepped in and gestured to Mimi.

"Oh, of course," Mimi squeezed my shoulders. "I'll be right back dear. Just sit tight."

I nodded. I only spoke to her. No one else, and only when we were alone. Sometimes, the White Coats mistake me for being a mute but no, I can speak. When she left, I silently counted one minute before following her.  
I wandered the School drifting from hallway to hallway, window to window. The School is my safe place. That's what I always thought. There was no place safer than this. And as long as Mimi's here, it'll be my home.

What I didn't count on was Mimi being gone.

As I walked down my third hallway, I stopped in front of the fifth window. Down below, Mimi was instructing the Erasers how hunt. They were newborns and didn't know a lot. I pouted and watched enviously as they got to be with my Mimi. I narrowed my eyes and waited impatiently so she could come back up and dress me up. It was fun. It was our time. No one else could interrupt us. A howl snapped me out of my thoughts.

My eyes widened in horror, taking in the sight below me. Suddenly all the Erasers were targeting Mimi. She turned and fled trying reach the door. And Eraser pounced on her fully morphed and all I saw was red. Colors blurred as I watched her die.

"Mimi." I pressed a hand to the cold glass. A few salty tears fell down my cheeks. "Mimi!" I choked a sob and started to pant. I slumped to my knees and covered my ears, shaking my head. This couldn't be happening. I lifted my head up and screamed.  
Mimi couldn't be gone! She couldn't! NEVER!

I stopped screaming - _when did I start?_ - after I heard glass shatter and it rained down on me. I felt a cool breeze ripple through my hair and my wings snapped out as if sensing it too. My black leathery wings shivered in excitement. I stood up and hurled myself through the open window. Out into the sky.

* * *

**.:Flashback Ends:.**

* * *

I felt something whiz by me. I blinked and realized I had been dropping slowly. As a few more whizzed past me, I shot up through the clouds again. But even then...how did I get all bloody? My once cream-colored scarf had been splattered red and my clothes were splashed in blood. I shook my hands free of the still dripping blood and touched my face.

It felt hot and sticky. When I pulled my hands away, my fingers were covered in more blood. I swallowed slowly and tried to wipe the blood off my face with my hands.

"Shoot her down!"

"We can't see her, sir!"

I jerked my head up and did a 360. But I was all alone up here. Then the voices...

"I don't care! Just shoot!"

They were from below!

I shook my head and zoomed off in a random direction. For now, I would just have to get away from here first.

* * *

•Abigail and Matthew•

* * *

I sighed and blew my blue-dyed bangs out of my eyes impatiently. So, here I was sitting in a dog crate waiting for my impending doom - or something like that - as I did everyday. Yeah, you might think it's strange for a fifteen-year-old girl to be sitting in a dog crate in a creepy lab filled with even creepier people. But around here, that was normal.

"Hey," I turned to see the ultimately good-looking god with his bright green eyes and shaggy brown hair - oops. I guess that's a bit too far. Well, the said god (AKA, Matthew) lived next to me in his dog crate. "Do you hear that?"

I tilted my head straining to hear whatever he was hearing. Shouting. I heard shouting and then the alarms went off, making me jolt and knock my head against the dog crate ceiling. Matt laughed and I glared at him, feeling the heat rush to my cheeks. Suddenly, the White Coats rushed in and started flipping on the lights. I squinted until my blue eyes adjusted and glanced at Matt.

"She's escaped!"

"She's never tried to before!"

"It doesn't matter! We have to catch her!"

Matt looked at me mouthing, 'Who?'

I shrugged back and watched the wild and whacky scientists freak out. If this happened everyday, I don't think it'd be half-bad to stay here. Of course, only if Matt was here to watch too.

* * *

**.:Five Years Ago:.**

* * *

My snowy owl wings rustled restlessly begging to be stretched. A blue feather - a science freak accident; they wanted to inject even more superman syrum into me but lo and behold, my eyes turned blue, the fringe of my hair turned blue and heck, even the edge of my wings turned blue! - was knocked loose when a dog crate was slammed against mine.

"Shut up! We don't care about what you have to say!" A White Coat yelled. Suddenly curious, I crawled to the edge of my dog crate and peered out the best I could. It was a boy, about my age with bright green eyes and messy brown hair. He caught me looking at him and smiled. I couldn't help but smile back.

"Hi, my name is Matthew you can call me Matt though." He said while sticking out his hand through the bars. I looked down at his hand and smiled taking it.

"Hi, my name is Abigail Grace Reed." I winked. "Call me Abby though."

"So how did you get sent here?" He said while sitting crossing his legs. I shuddered at the thought.

"My family was abusive." I said in a quiet voice. I didn't care about my 'family' as most of you would put it. "They hated me enough to sell me here." I said slightly angry. "What kind of family sells you for money? It's stupid! I don't even have a family! They're dead to me! DEAD!"

I didn't even realize I raised my voice and angry tears slid down my cheeks. I wiped them away with the back of my hand and sniffled. He gave me a pitiful look. I took a few deep breaths before I spoke, not trusting my voice.

"How did you end up here?"

"My parents didn't abuse me. They did worse." He chuckled darkly. "They acted like I didn't exist. I was normally ignored by people before I was then captured by the school, I don't remember anything else." He looked back at me and put a small smile on his face. "And honestly, with you here, I think I'll be alright."

I smiled. "Me too."

* * *

**.:Present:.**

* * *

I watched as a small White Coat backed up into my cage, trying to squeeze past the crowd of confused scientists. Now, you don't get this chance everyday. I swiped the keys hanging from her lab coat and quickly unlocked my cage.

Matt's hands were already outside his cage to catch the keys as I tossed it to him. Without waiting another moment, we both slammed the doors open and shoved aside everyone. I kicked a White Coat I the chest as he got in my way and sprinted out the door with Mat not to far behind.

"Catch them you idiots!"

I couldn't help bit let out a squeal of glee. And then slip on some glass running smack into some mean looking people holding a gun -

"Directed to my chest, really?" I snorted and kicked him in the head before swiping his gun - and borrowing a line from Scarface - "Say hello to my leetle friend!"  
As I shot at them - tranquilizer darts, nothing dangerous...I think. - I dropped the gun when I ran out of rounds. Matt tugged me out of the window and into the open sky. We both nodded at each other before shooting straight up into the clouds. We both laughed and stopped when we felt like we got far enough away.

"Scarface, really?" Matt said cocking an eyebrow at me.

"Just for fun!" I shouted back. A shadow crossed overhead and I blinked, waiting for a blow.

Instead, a girl with dark hair and blue - or was it black? - wings appeared in front of me. We - as in Mat and I - gawked at her wings.

"Dude, that's awesome," Mat finally said. He flew to her and she whipped around revealing her clawed hands and a look that would rival Bloody Mary. He put his hands up. "Whoa bro, calm down. I'm just saying your wings are awesome."

She narrowed her eyes

"Hi, my name is Abigail." She turned around. She looked down and gingerly shook my hand as if it'd explode.

"Lulu." I blinked at her whispery voice.

"And I'm Matthew," he said to no one in particular.

"Let's go!"

* * *

**[A/N] I had fully written this one anyway so...haha, it really is mine. I have been known my notoriously long author notes which you can ignore. Anyway, I have adopted 'Rush' and it is now completely under my wings (LOL, pun intended)!**

**Lulu is my character. The profiles of the whole cast will be published as a chapter as soon as I have enough entries and they've all been identified in the story.**

**I still have 1-2 open female spots if there are still some wanting to submit! (There is a slight acception to ONE male) PM me for application!**


	2. Chapter 2

Lulu decided these people didn't want to kill her...

...at least for _now_ anyway.

But she still didn't trust them. You see, trust is like a piece of paper. Once crumpled it can never be the same.

Matt and Abby were both flying along silently as if going along with her silent form. The wind had lost most of its bite and became a gentle breeze lifting them higher. Lulu had plenty of experience with flying since she had been taught how to a few years ago but Matt and Abby relied on the wind currents to help them try out their new muscles. They still struggled a bit but would eventually would master the art of flying. Matt was fascinated with her leathery bat wings but stayed silent seeing as she never uttered another word besides her name. Abby herself kept glancing at Lulu, slightly curious by her strangeness and the fact that she saved them - even if it wasn't on purpose.

She kept her distance and flew just above them so she could keep an eye on them. Abby and Matt were aware of that fact and respected it. Abby began searching for a place to land. It had only been about an hour but her wings were becoming exhausted. And looking at Matt, he too was getting tired out. But Lulu was still as silent and unwavering as ever. It was strange to see a blood-spattered girl and insist she fly with them. Lulu was smeared in blood. It didn't help with what she wore.

Her cream-colored scarf was now stained a rusty red and she had spatters of blood here and there on her arms and face. She shook it off after flying around in a circle at high speed but her clothes would remain that way until they were washed. Abby realized she should probably change. In fact, all three of them needed to change. They were wearing odd bits of clothing that had been given to them over the years. Matts jeans were faded and worn and his shirt was torn in odd places. Abby's shirt was almost too small for her and her jeans had also become a faded color.

Abby flew upwards while Lulu eyed her warily. She beat her wings a bit harder to stay with the convenient flyer and panted slightly. "L-Lulu," she gasped. "We're going to land."  
Lulu nodded in response.

Matt had heard and was now lowering himself. All three of them began their descent down to earth. Lulu landed lightly on a tree branch with an air of elegance. Matt and Abby, on the other hand, crashlanded hard. Abby tried to copy Lulu but ended up smashing into a bush. Matt had landed on a log and was now rolling down a small hill. Lulu watched with interest as the first-time flyers crawled out from the bushes with their backs aching and their heads spinning. Lulu hopped deftly from the tree branch and alighted on the ground with a blank expression. Abby stood slowly and sighed, pulling at twigs and leaves in her hair. Matt sort of dragged himself near them and lay on the ground for a moment, wheezing for breath.

"How did she do that?" Abby muttered to herself.

Matt slowly rose and flapped his wings weakly. "You're definitely teaching us how to land...Lulu."

She folded her wings in and sat down a few feet away from them. Matt and Abby continued to stretch out their aching muscles and winced slightly at their back muscles. They had never flown this long before so it was natural for them to be in pain. Abby ignored the aching in her wings and slowly stepped to Lulu. She didn't move but became stiff.

"Hey...Lulu..." she said carefully. "Do you think you should...uh, change?"

Lulu looked down quickly then nodded. She pointed to her left. Abby looked over and saw a light plume of smoke over the treetops. So they landed near some home. Lucky.

"Hey, Matt," Abby said raptly getting his attention. "Lulu thinks there's something over there!"

Matt nodded and quickly joined the girls. Abby gave the silent order and they began a short walk to the house. Abby prayed she was going in the right direction and that none of them would twist their ankles. Lulu followed behind them silently. It sent chills down her back and made her neck prickle. (Of course it had nothing to do with the fact that she looked like she just walked out of some horror flick) And she looked like some bloodthirsty, cold-blooded killer stalking her and hunting her down. And her claws from earlier...she shivered. They were so sharp and lethal. Abby could just imagine them ripping into her flesh and tearing her from limb to limb...

_Egad._

Abby mentally shook the thoughts from her head and continued on.

* * *

After awhile, we finally came upon where the smoke was coming from. We had paused a while away to observe the makeshift camp where a dark figure sat around a open fire. I wondered if there'd be anymore people.

"Plan?" I whispered to my companions.

"Well, we could kill..." Abigail said light-heartedly.

I gave her a pointed look.

"Just kidding," she giggled into the palm of her hand.

"Of course you were," I rolled my eyes.

"Supplies?" Lulu suggested looking at them thoughtfully.

Abigail mentally smacked herself for not thinking of it before. "Of course! Why not?"

"Does it look like they even have supplies?" Matt observed them carefully but there didn't seem to be any bags, food or even a bottle of water. It looked like a poorly prepared campsite. "Wait...it's just one person."

"So? We could just kick butt and be done with it."

"Have you ever really fought before?" Matt raised an eyebrow at her. They'd been cooped up in the School for a while and never did much combat training.

She cast her eyes downward. "Well, _no_ - "

"Then kicking butt is out of the question," I sighed.

"Lulu looks like she can kick butt," Abigail slid her glance to the mysterious girl. "Or maybe she can just like, pretend to be a monster or something. She looks like one already."

Even Lulu narrowed her eyes at that. I smacked her arm. Abigail stuck her tongue out at me and looked back at the fire. I tried to form a plan in my head to check them out but came up with none. And as much as I didn't want to admit it, Abigail's plan sounded pretty good. Lulu was our best option at the moment. I sighed grudgingly at turned to her.

"Do you think you can do it?" I asked firmly.

Lulu blinked then shrugged. I took that as a 'maybe.' Hey, I think I might speak Lulu language at the end of all this. If it ever ended that it. I herded us away from them, being as quiet as possible.

"Well, let's come up with something quick," I looked at the darkening sky. "It's almost nightfall. In a bit, you can try to scare him or her."

She nodded then disappeared back into the cover of the foliage. Abby stared for a moment then looked at me.

"I think she's a little creepy," she noted.

"I'm sure she heard that," I muttered sitting down. "You do realize we've no place to go, no money, nothing to eat..."

"I know," she sat down next to me and sighed, leaning her shoulder against mine. "You know...I've never been this close to you before."

I looked at her.

She wrapped her arm around mine and smiled to herself. "It's nice."


	3. One of Many

Lulu observed the fire, silently flapping her wings high above it. Her eyesight was poor but she could hear the crackle of the fire below and the crickets in the grass as well as each individual breath the figure took. Lulu circled around then slowly descended to the forest floor with a light tap. The fire was just about hundred feet away. Slowly, she crept towards it.

What Lulu didn't understand was why cooperated with these two strange people. Without much social contact, she could never trust them. They seemed to be close; maybe a little too close. Lulu wasn't sure she should even be doing this. She could take off right then and there and be done with people, finding a little corner of the world to hole up in until she died. She didn't even know how long that would be.

Lulu mentally shook herself free of those thoughts and came upon the firelight just nearby. She planned to leave after they met the one by the fire.

The girl, Lulu assumed, had dark brown wavy hair and widened, fearful turquoise eyes. The firelight danced across her tan skin, casting shadows in the crevices. She looked no older than Lulu herself and extremely shaken. Her eyes were fearful and she kept looking up when she heard something. She had long legs pulled up to her chest as she stared into the flames. In a way, she looked lost.

Lulu didn't know what to do then. She couldn't scare away one who had nothing. Lulu might've been in the school all her life but she still knew not to inflict fear on another when already so exposed; it reminded her too much of herself. She was shivering, flinching whenever the fire crackled loudly. There were plenty of ashes since she had been burning the fire for so long. Lulu had been observant for a long while then noticed the girl frozen in terror as she caught her own stare.

Lulu sighed soundlessly knowing her cover was blown and stood from where she had crouched. Her wings pressed to her back as she approached her warily. Lulu stopped a good twenty feet away and stared at the girl with blank eyes.

The girl whipped up a burning stick from the fire and held its' burning end at her, swishing it viciously. Lulu merely blinked in response.

"W-what do you want?" The girl's voice shook.

Lulu shrugged. '_Nothing_.'

"I have n-nothing so just leave me alone!" She jabbed the stick at her. "Stay back! Back I say! Back!"

Lulu took a step forward.

"D-don't come any closer!" The girl warned. "I-I'm telling you, stay back!"

Lulu walked forward, wanting to know why she was afraid.

"I-I...I um..."

"Afraid?" Lulu whispered to herself. "Why?"

"What?"

"Why are you so afraid?" Lulu asked genuinely interested.

"I'm not a-afraid!" She insisted. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Lulu," she replied lightly. "Nothing."

"Then leave me alone!"

"Why?"

"Well, that's 'cause...'cause I'm..." she faltered for a moment then held Lulu's gaze again. "I'm...different from you. You wouldn't understand!"

Lulu raised her eyebrows in surprise. If different meant different because of...she slowly unfolded her wings so that they peeked out from behind her. She swept back her dark hair and revealed slightly pointed ears. Lulu blinked again.

"Different?" Lulu asked quietly.

She stared then dropped the stick. "What're you? A monster? A hunter? Who sent you?"

"No one," Lulu went closer. "Who are you?"

"Why?"

"Why?"

"N-no, it's Alexis," she stammered. "I'm Alexis Taylor. Have you...are you from the school?"

"Yes."

"Escaped?"

"...yes."

"Do you...can we..." Alexis studied Lulu for a moment more. "Partners?"

"Partners?" Lulu echoed softly.

"Yeah, like, work as a team or something," she shrugged. "I mean, it'll be a while but we School escapees need to stick together."

"Together?" Like Matthew and Abigail?

"Yeah," Alexis walked forward and stuck out her hand. "An agreement. Just for a little while, okay?"

Lulu looked at the hand and gingerly took it between hers.

"Lulu!" Abigail came running in loudly. "My goodness, what is happening here? What are you two doing?"

"Who is this?" Alexis quickly recoiled and flipped up a stick from the fire and held it up defensively. "What's happening here?"

"I told you Abby!" Matthew came thundering in behind her. "To stay put!"

"Oh, you did?" Abby rolled her eyes. "My bad."

"Who's this?" Matthew turned his attention to Alexis, still brandishing her flame stick. "Look, we're not here to hurt you - "

"Like I'll believe that!" Alexis shot back.

Lulu shrugged when Matthew looked at her extended her wngs before shooting off into the night sky like a shadow, almost as if she were never there. All that remained was the swaying grass from her abrupt departure. All attention focused on that for a moment then Alexis suddenly whipped out her wings and took a running start before jumping into the sky. Her flight was a little shaky and she didn't go as high or fast but she disappeared after Lulu.

Abigail stared with her mouth agape. "...what...just happened?"

"Well, either Lulu ditched us," Matthew rubbed his chin, "or that girl said something to her. It's hard to say when Lulu doesn't talk."

"I guess you could be right," Abigail furrowed her brow in concentration. "To a certain extent. But what do we do now? I'm definitely sure she's an escapee from the School - because of her wings - so she didn't have supplies and this was a wasted investigation."

Matthew looked off to where they disappeared with a sigh. "I've no idea what to do now."

"We could follow them," she suggested taking out her wings.

Matthew extended his wings and sighed, knowing he was going to be tired after this. "We can try."

* * *

I kept flying with the light of the moon and my good hearing to avoid flying into other birds and such. The wind felt good on my face and my wings stretched out from being held in. Mimi had taught me to fly years ago when I was younger. I faintly smiled at that thought and served upward then downward, feeling the tunnels of wind on my skin. I'd been flying for a long time so I didn't get tired out as fast as the others. I also practiced my landing many times so I perfected it. _All for Mimi._

"Hey!"

I already knew she was there; her hard flaps and jerky flight positions were loud.

"Lulu! Wait...up!" She was out of breath.

Lulu slowed and hovered near Alexis as she panted for breath. This girl must've never flown for distance. Maybe she just learned to fly.

"Did you...do you know those two?" Alexis asked trying hard to keep herself aloft.

Lulu nodded, hoping she could see her.

"What did they want?"

"Nothing."

"Then why? Why were they there?"

I shrugged in a way of saying, '_I don't know._'

"Where are you going?"

I shrugged again.

"Can I...can I come?" Alexis asked hesitantly.

I shrugged and turned around, slowly flying away not looking to see if she was following. We flew on for a bit and then I heard Abigail and Matthew trailing behind, maybe a good while back as to not startle Alexis - or maybe they were just slow. Lulu didn't know.

I began descending to the darkness below, spotting an opening in the large forest. Alexis sounded exhausted by now and Lulu wanted her to gather her strength for a long flight later. I was going to teach this girl quite a lot.

* * *

**Aleixis** **POV**

"Uh..._thanks_?" I attempted to start a conversation with the girl.

She nodded in return. I stared at her for a moment more then figured, I don't know the first thing about socializing. I sighed then sat down with a huff. We had landed in another patch of the forest because Lulu had spotted water nearby. We both sat down by the stone pool of water that must've had an underground water source because it was as clear as day. From above it was shaped like an odd blob of darkness. It wasn't extremely large but was big enough to keep medium sized fish. We both drank our fill though I'm sure we were both hungry.

Lulu had washed off the blood and attempted to wash her clothing and get the blood out. She then laid the wet clothing on the rocks and sat in her undergarments nearby. I didn't mind; a half-naked Lulu was better than a bloody Lulu.

It was a pretty quiet time now, the moon high in the sky and illuminating the darkness. You could hear the natural sounds of the forest, birds and the wind rustling in the trees. It a little colder than before but bearable. I stared into the water where my reflection stared back, wavering in the water. My jacket was a little worn and dirty but it'd served me a long time now. I had been dressed in whatever the White Coats gathered for me after the tests. My pants were baggy and cinched at mid-calf. I tried asking for something else since my pants were a little too loose but as expected, they were never answered.

I slowly reached out to the water and - for some unknown reason - pulled it towards me. A small ripple broke out on the surface. I raised my eyebrows and pushed towards it. It seemed to dip slightly and then created more waves. I continued this for a little while before Lulu came next to me to watch with curious fascination as the water seemed to bend at my will. I pulled the water up and created a mini swirling column of water. I smiled a little and let it drop with a 'plop!'

I directed my hands towards her clothing and wondered if I could draw out the water in them. I pulled. Water seemed to appear out of thin air and left her clothing. Lulu went over and picked them up and raised her eyebrows in surprise - they were dry. She slipped back into them and smiled gently. I smiled in return.

We returned our attention to the water and I began pushing and pulling, twisting the water and made it dance in the night air. I held up little orbs of water in the air and juggled them a bit with delight. I let one drop into my mouth and swallowed it with a grin. Lulu seemed to chuckle a little at my silliness.

I suddenly heard a crash not too far off followed by the snapping of branches and a stream of curses. I dropped everything with surprise and shot up to a standing position. I glanced to Lulu. She seemed to be amused by this and gave me a hint of what happened; the crash had been from the two from earlier. Different as well, I would assume. We bounded through the trees effortlessly with the moon illuminating our way. We came upon the two as they straightened themselves out.

"Matthew!" A girl spit a leaf from her mouth. "I told you to make a left! _LEFT_!"

"Now, Abigail, was that supposed to be _my_ left or _your_ left?" Matthew brushed the dirt from his arm.

"_Your_ left you dolt!" Abigail caught sight of us. "Well, finally caught up to them."

Matthew looked up, his green eyes surprisingly bright. "Oh, were they trying to lose us? I didn't notice."

Abigail stood and stretched her wings. "Whatever, what're you two up to anyway? Are you still teamed with us Lulu?"

Lulu shrugged. '_More or less._'

"That meant 'if you want me to,' am I right?" Matthew guessed.

Lulu shrugged again. '_I guess._'

"We've got water," I interrupted his one-sided conversation. "Back at...the watering hole."

"I'm a little thirsty," Abigail said with a glance at Matthew.

He nodded. "Yeah, I guess I am too."

"We don't have any food though," I warned them as I turned around.

"That's fine," Matthew said as we led them back to the water.

I looked at Lulu once when we got there and smiled a bit, casting a sly glance at the water. Her eyes became filled with amusement. I pulled out two golfball sized orbs at the same time and held them out to Abigail and Matthew. They both jumped back in surprise.

"What the heck is that?" Abigail peered at the floating water.

"Water," I replied with a simple shrug. "Drink up."

"But how...how are you doing that?" Abigail asked waving her hands around the floating water.

"No idea really," I shrugged. "Take it or leave it."

"It's just water," Matthew said, his already gone.

"If you say so," she drank it from the air. She downed it with a satisfied gulp. "That was refreshing."

"So what's your story?" I asked.

"Well, it starts with a massive alarm going off, White Coats panicking then we snag some keys and bust out of a broken window," Abby listed it off her fingers. "Met Lulu in the sky, grouped off, met you then we're here. End of story."

"How'd you escape?" Matthew asked.

I exhaled shortly then tried to spit out all the details. "Hmm...I was with a few others in the hunting grounds...we were suppose to outrun the Erasers. That's what a few others told me. But then there was a high-pitched sound and we all dropped to the ground. It was so agonizing! I don't understand what it was now either. And then something blurred into the field and began killing the Erasers. It was _awful_, blood and screams everywhere."

"I do remember a sound like that," Abby nodded her head slowly.

"And because no one was paying attention, everyone who could began escaping - into the sky, going underground...I think we just wanted to escape the nightmare behind us. Then I went out Ito the woods, not sure what to do and made a fire. Then I saw Lulu and freaked. She looked absolutely horrifying - no offense - so of course I tried to defend myself. I guess that takes us to here."

"I wonder what that thing was," Matthew rubbed his chin.

"It's a killer, that's what," Abby shuddered. "I would hate to meet something like that."

"It was a scary thing to see," I agreed with a shiver. I turned to Lulu who had been idly sitting by. "Hey, what's happened to you?"

All three heads turned to her. Lulu focused on all three of them and hesitantly began. "Not much to say...I was...I was with m-my friend, Mimi, and then, while she was training..." she shut her eyes. "Mimi was killed. By Erasers."

"How awful." Abigail gasped.

Lulu nodded and opened her eyes again. "I-I can't...there was so much blood..so I think I might've screamed...and the window broke because of it. Then I flew out into the sky," she paused. "I-I-I injured myself on the way out and had a long fall. That's probably why I looked so strange. But afterwards I met Abigail and Matthew then you. The end."

"Interesting," Matthew furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "We all witness the same events in different places. So Lulu inadvertently allowed us an escape and thus freeing us from the clutches of the White Coats. Thanks Lulu."

"I guess that makes sense," Abigail stretched and yawned. "I don't know about you but I'm pooped."

"Yeah, me too," I brushed the tip of my nose. "I'm just gonna...sleep up in this...tree here..."

"I've got this one," Abigail said pointing.

We all dispersed into the trees. I took a thick and sturdy branch, curling up close an praying I didn't fall off in the night. And then I was fast asleep. Matthew and Abigail slept in one tree a few branches away from each other. Abigail stayed in his line of sight and Abigail quickly began dozing. Soon, satisfied about his position, he fell asleep as well. Lulu, quiet as a mouse, curled up in the thick and sturdy branches of the tree and fell asleep last.

The four of them had met, shared their stories and had an unspoken agreement all in one day. Maybe it was their instinct to survive, maybe it was because they wanted the friendship...either way, this night was only one of many spent together.

* * *

Character Info Progress!

**[A/N]** **Hi guys! I've been trying so hard to write something cool...and I kept thinking this chapter wasn't long enough too...well, the reason of my long-time absence(?) is because I've been working on your character pictures! I've only got the outline of two people so far...it's hard doing it because I'm so new at this! I'm still working on the coloring but other than that, most of the sketches of your characters are done (though now that I realize it...I never did my character!)**

**I've got Storm and Icarus on my computer so far.**

**I drew Alexis first, then Abby, Icarus, Matthew, and finally Storm. I will most like draw Shadow next and (finally!) my own character Lulu. The girls...egad, I seemed to have lost my touch on drawing females. I think the boys have turned out okay...(a little iffy on Matthew...and Icarus' face...) but I'm improving!**

***Scratch that! I just finished Shadow! Ah, I finished it at 3:35 in the morning. It took me maybe an hour to figure out just the pose and then it was never really specified for wings so I skipped out (lazy me) and just put her tail...then it took my maybe an hour and a half to figure out her clothing and how to do it. (I won't put wings on her now though...)**

* * *

Dear OC submitters,

_Would you like me to post the pencil sketches of your characters before I color them? (Or Maybe the line art instead...? Your choice.) I will put the links up if you want me too but try not to get your hopes up, my skills as a visual artist are quite low -_-"_  
_PM me for changes or whatnot...I hope they look alright...I know Abby looks like crap (I'm not kidding...so sorry but I just can't draw her for $h!t!) Also, I'm not sure who to introduce next...any ideas?_  
_(LOL, did anyone even read that?)_

Socially awkward,

_~LonelyButLovely_


	4. Storm and Icarus

**FangAndIggyRule**: _Heck, I don't even know anymore. We'll just have to throw the (something) and see where the cards(?) lay. (I can't even remember the saying...) Matt and Abby...? I'm not even sure I'll put them together. It's all up in the air now. I'm trying to make 'Abby' known as Abigail and sometimes 'Matt' as Matthew. (also, I'm lazy)_

**Silverleaf2157**: _I'm still piecing this together σ(^_^;) I'm still sketchy about introducing the characters somehow and I'm remodeling Abigail ASAP! I'm probably going to end up posting the pictures as soon as my mom gives the computer its' power cord back (she claims I live on my computer). I publish my chapters on various devices - sometimes having to format it on my iPod (extremely tedious and difficult), doing it on my sisters' new iPhone, dads' iPad and occasionally sneaking onto my moms' laptop. But my main computer is the one with my scanner...I'm thinking about redoing the designs now. But...if possible, I'll post the link at the end of this chapter or the next._

[LINK:] Fark it! It just isn't letting me post it! Go to deviant art, search "Storm kitana411" (I swear, I always use that name...) and Storm should be in there somewhere...(my other art is embarrassing and stupid! Just look for Storm, okay?)

(And I just looked at it again...his _gawdfarking_ hands! I didn't even look at them for a while...so...angry...)

Onwards!

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"You think it's safe yet?"

"No."

"Come _on_."

"Quit whining."

"It's cramped in here."

"It's a _cage_, Storm." Icarus rolled his eyes. "Of course it'll be cramped."

"It's been an entire day," he groaned. "How come it's not safe yet?"

Icarus surveyed the landscape once more. It was empty, as usual, and there was no sign of an Eraser anywhere. His ear twitched, hearing an animal moving through the grass. Storm had been complaining day and night, irritated and impatient. He was hungry and thirst, had to use the bathroom, and didn't take to being being cramped up too well. He had woken up in the cramped cage yesterday not knowing were he was, fainted in the cramped space, and then when he came to, wouldn't stop complaining about their situation. Storm wasn't usually a complainer, Icarus knew, since it was he who always complained. But the claustrophobia made him change personalities at the moment. Icarus could only hope he'd be normal later.

Well, guys, meet Icarus. Your average fifteen-year-old, wolf-bird mutant. He's current cramped in the cage next to a very annoying Storm. Usually, Icarus was the one that never shut up and Storm was the one who wanted to strangle him. Storm was a very tall person cramped in a tiny crate with Icarus with sandy blond hair flopping over stormy gray eyes. Icrus was the opposite of him, jet-black hair and twinkling green eyes. Icarus could only remember them being transferred from another facility to another together in that dog crate. But when he woke up, they were still in the dog crate but also in a completely differed environment. It had been late afternoon. Thinking it was a test, he made sure both of them stayed put in the crate. Storm wanted out since he was claustrophobic but Icarus was firm.

"I'm hungry," he went on. "It's hot in here. Let's get out. You've got that _mad_ fire thing that could melt the door."

"I'm not getting killed just because you're hungry," Icarus clenched his teeth in annoyance.

"It's been a whole day," Storm said pointedly. "I'm sure it's safe. Let's get out."

Icarus sighed and crossed his arms. It was rather hot in the crate now. And Icarus had to go really bad. For trying to escape, that was the usual Storm who planned so many escapades but always ended up back in the crate. The two had known each other for a couple years now, being crate buddies had started out as a test but then it became permanent so that the White Coats could further the 'social' environment the two had developed. Icarus, now holding his bladder to the point of explosion, furiously blew the door off its' hinges and burst out of the cage, running to the bushes to take care of his business.

"Finally!" Storm got out in a more dignified fashion and stretched. "Fresh air and not the filthy humidity coming off your back."

Icarus ignored the insult. "Peeing has never felt _soooo_ good."

Storm rolled his good eye, the other covered with an eyepatch. He got that one when he was younger, more rebellious, from an Eraser punishment. It had been an awful thing at the time but eventually he got used to being blind in one eye. He stretched his swirly gray wings as well. They had hurt from being cramped up for so long.

Icarus came back with his tail wagging in content. He pulled his white cap from his coat and straightened it out, lightly putting it on his head. His black ears poked out from beneath. His wings slowly stretched as well, similar to Storms but darker with black symmetrical feathers. He grinned, a small fang protruding from his lip. He was way happier in the open.

"Isn't this better?" Storm said in a 'I told you so' tone.

"You were right," Icarus breathed in the cool air. "It feels great being out of that thing."

"Let's find some food and water, eh?" Storm looked around. "You don't happen to know where some water is do you?"

"I could ask someone," Icarus suggested.

"Yes," Storm muttered sarcastically. "Why don't you? I mean, we are the only two out here in the middle of nowhere, right? Makes total sense to ask the next stranger - if there is one - where the nearest water is..."

"I mean them," he pointed to the green foliage but Storm saw nothing. "You know, the animals."

Storm looked doubtful. "And since when can you speak, uh, 'animal language,' hmm?"

"Since two hours ago," Icarus boasted proudly. "Had a short conversation with a chipmunk."

"Did the heat get to you?" Storm raised a questioning eyebrow.

"I'm fine," he insisted. "Look, I'll show you."

He turned and kneeled on one knee. He made a set of weird chittering noises and clicks before getting up and turning to Storm again with a grin. Storm only looked at him weirder. Icarus did it again, laughed, then spoke something Storm could understand.

"This squirrel says there's some drinking water not too far from here," he held out a small ball of fluffy fur. "And he says there's more people like us."

"Really?" Storm leaned forward to the squirrel. "Why thank you so much talking squirrel. I think everything you say is completely legit and believable so we should listen to you."

"He doesn't understand a single thing you're saying," Icarus informed him as the small squirrel climbed up his arm. "I could translate if you want."

Storm put a hand to his head and groaned frustratedly. "I was joking dummy. I think the heat's making you hallucinate."

"I told you I'm fine," he said with more emphasis. "I swear I can understand animals now."

"And you can talk back too," Storm let out a long sigh. "I think it's the heat, Icarus, the _heat_."

Icarus harrumphed, the squirrel sitting on his shoulder. "I'll prove it. Follow me and I'll _prove_ I can talk to animals."

Storm relented and thus, the two began following the instructions of a tiny reddish squirrel. Storm learned its name was [insert a bunch of untranslated clicks and chittering sounds] which Icarus insisted translated to Lionel. Storm only rolled his eye and followed his energetic friend. The squirrel went ahead of them, waiting for them to catch up and jumping away when they did. Lionel finally hopped back onto Icarus' shoulder and made excited chitters. Icarus pointed ahead.

"He says the water isn't too far now," he looked at Storm. "We just need to head this way for a little while and we'll be there."

"Great," Storm sighed not even sure to believe him anymore. Lionel hopped onto his shoulder and then onto his head. Storm looked up. Lionel made a tiny chitter and hopped back onto his shoulder then back to Icarus.

"He likes you," he smiled and petted Lionel between the ears.

"That's even better," Storm didn't even know if he should be proud of the fact that Lionel the squirrel liked him.

"Let's get going!" Icarus pumped his fist excitedly.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Yes I am!"

Storm groaned.

Meanwhile, back to our original characters, they were still slumbering. Abigail was hugging the tree, completely comfortable and even drooling. Matthew was on his chest, his cheek pressed in the cool wood. Alexis was sprawled in her tree, limbs hanging on tree branches and legs outward. Lulu was still curled up, composed even in her sleep.

But when she heard an unusal crackle in the forest, she began to stir in her sleep. Her sensitive ears - making up for her bad eyesight - tuned towards the source of the sound. Her eyes, a misty blue in the light, opened slowly. She sat up slowly, listening closely. There was a rustle close to her. Matthew was nearby, signaling he heard the sound too. Both of them nodded and then focused on the sounds.

There were more branches snapping now and something was most definitely coming. Matthew tensed, rising from the branch onto stand. Lulu did the same, wings slowly extending. They both leaned forward, anticipating what ever happened next. As soon as they saw two figures step out into the clearing, they attacked.

Matthew and Lulu charged down in a blur and tackled the two separately. Matthew and Figure 1 tumbled back into the trees, grunting and struggling. Lulu and Figure 2 fell to the ground, her small fists furiously working away while Figure 2 blocked them with his arms. Lightening fast, he reached up and grabbed her wrists tight. She wasn't to be underestimated, Mimi taught her how to fight and the lesson was to never give in, no matter what. Lulu swung her legs underneath her, kicking his jaw hard and making him let go of her wrists. She flipped backwards and went back into the sky. Figure 2 followed, much to her surprise.

Matthew and Figure 1 were still throwing punches at each other. Matthew had a bloody lip and Figure 1's was swollen. Matthew landed one to Figure 1's head moments before Figure 1 flipped them over and he began throwing good swings of his own.

The commotion woke the remaining two who wiped their eyes tiredly and yawned. Abigail was covering her mouth with her hand when something blurred dark passed her with a gust of wind. Then another, this time a lighter color. Alexis softly landed on the ground, looking towards the commotion in the undergrowth. Abigail flew up to observe the events going on.

Figure 2 finally spoke as Lulu hovered just outside his reach.

"We come in peace!"

Lulu kept a hard expression, eyes narrowed slightly and a minute frown upon her lips. But she kept away from him, warily keeping her hands up. Figure 2 spoke again.

"I'm Storm," he introduced himself. "And my friend is Icarus. If you could just give us a little water we'd be on our way."

"Why should I believe you?" Her voice was edgy.

"I never attacked you," he stated.

Lulu, knowing he was right, dropped her arms slightly. Abigail watched the two carefully, unsure of what the situation was. But her attention directed elsewhere when a familiar voice shouted:

"ARGH! VICIOUS SQUIRREL!"

Abigail immediately turned downward and landed in a high tree branch, sliding down to the ground before searching for the source of the voice. Out of breath, she found Matthew running around swatting himself down. Alexis on the other hand, was defending herself against a boy with a bushy tail and pointed black ears atop his head. Alexis sped towards him, whipping out her hands defensively. Abigail watched with slight surprise as the water from the small pond responded, rising out of the water and following after Alexis.

Figure 2 widened his eyes in surprise as he was attacked by a water-bending Alexis.

* * *

[**A/N**] _Water-bending is the only description I could think of for her ability...dorky, I know..._

* * *

"Just a little water," Storm tried again. "We don't mean any harm."

Lulu made a small noise that could possibly be a scoff. "I cannot trust you," she pulled back and kept up a cautious stance. "But I will relent."

Not taking her eyes off him, she flew back down and searched for the one named Icarus who was probably still fighting Matthew. Abigail had joined the wrestle, Alexis as well. Her eyes cast to Matthew who was seemingly fighting an invisible enemy. Lulu swooped towards the girls and began circling a soaking Icarus, making him fall over in surprise. Abigail pulled out to help Matthew.

"S-squirrel!" He spat jumping around. He flew up and did flips in the air to knock it loose. A small ball of red fur dispatched from Matthew, landing in the trees moments after.

In the end, Icarus and Storm were tied up using water 'ropes' Alexis made. The group began discussing what to do in such a situation.

"Well," Storm sighed. "That went well."

"Say that after you've been hit by a fridge," Icarus grunted. "My face hurts."

"You shouldn't have fought," Storm commented lightly. "I'm fine."

"Was I just supposed to let him pummel me?" Icarus spit. "He came at me!"

"You're wet, bleeding, and angry," Storm flexed his wrists. "I've going got a bruise or so, she didn't really try to knock me out."

"She?" Icarus said with disbelief. "She? ! I got beat up by some guy and you get a girl? Of all things...!"

"Calm down, Icarus," Storm looked back to the group huddle by the water. "Be grateful they didn't kill us."

"Or die trying," he muttered angrily.

"Icarus..."

He fumed silently, refusing to say anymore. Storm sighed and waited patiently for them to come to a conclusion. Finally, the group dispersed and surrounded them. Matthew cleared his throat.

"We've decided to let you live - "

"Gee, thanks," Icarus grumped.

Storm elbowed him sharply.

"And you can water," Matthew scratched his head. "Also, we're sorry for attacking you. We thought something else was coming. But you two look...different. We're all from the School. You?"

"Technically," Storm replied. "We're being shipped from place to place - what happened? Are we...are we free?"

The group looked at each other. Matthew spoke again. "We escaped from the School yesterday."

"Then we _have_ to be free," Storm chuckled. "Finally, out of their clutches."

"I'm sorry for your, er, friend," Matthew gestured towards Icarus. "Lulu tells me his name is Icarus and you're Storm. Am I right?"

"Yep," Storm nodded.

Alexis freed them of their bonds.

"It may seem to be a little stupid," Matthew said as they both stood. "But we're all teaming up here and...well, it's best if we stay together. We then have a high chance of surviving."

"No way!" Icarus protested at the same time Storm replied, "We'll think it over."

Icarus glared at him as Storm turned to him. The other four waited for their answer. Storm began weighing the pros and cons of being in a group and relayed them to Icarus. Icarus was dead set on just ditching the group and getting away. Storm tried to reason with him, pointing out it was a good idea seeing as they didn't know where they were, what to do and had absolutely nothing to drink.

"But _he_ attacked _me!_" Icarus snapped.

"It was an honest mistake," Storm insisted. "I'm sure you would've done the same."

Icarus grumbled but knew it was true. Storm let a small smile on his lips to form then turned to the group.

"We've made our decision," he announced. "It's a good idea, we accept."

"Good," Matthew nodded to the rest of the group. He held out a fist to Storm.

Storm went up and bumped his fist with his. They both grinned, easily accepting each other. Icarus lagged behind him and kept his hands busy with Lionel who ran up and down his arms. Curious, Abigail cautiously approached him. Matthew, Storm and Alexis began distribution water. Lulu observed, still alert and suspicious.

"That's...a squirrel, right?" Abigail asked.

Icarus nodded and let Lionel run around. He made fast friends with Lionel, happy to have another companion.

Abigail sat down across from him. "What's your story?"

"Not really an escape," Icarus said knowing he was going to have it tell it later anyway. "I think we were dropped by accident or something...I'm not even sure. But when I woke up, I was here in a cage with Storm. Busted the cage and then met Lionel - the squirrel."

"Can you talk to animals?"

"I found out a couple hours ago," he replied.

"Awesome." She let Lionel approach her. "I'm Abigail Grace Reed - but call me Abby."

"Icarus Berlitz," he nodded curtly.

"Yo, Icky," Storm shouted back. "Want some water?"

Icarus rose, Lionel following and hopping onto his shoulder. "Coming."

Afterwards, they all shared their stories. When it came to White Coats, Storm became a little quiet. The girls began tending to their wounds, Alexis washing off the blood from Icarus and Matthew. Storm had a few bruises from Lulu's punch and kicks but otherwise seemed okay. She personally attended to him, washing the dirt off his face with a shredded piece of her scarf. She worked with gentle hands and a concentrated expression. While doing so, he studied her up close now that she wasn't as guarded as before.

Her eyes were a very light shade of blue, almost as if she were blind. She had a pale complexion and dark hair cascading down her shoulders. She seemed quite dolled up for being an escapee; fitting clothing and it was clean, almost new. It was strange because the rest of the groups clothes were faded and looked quite worn from use. Her arms were, however, covered in old bandages, fraying at the edges and gray.

As she wrung out the cloth and lay it on a rock to dry, she began to extend her wings to fly off. It unnerved her to be so close to so many people at one time seeing as it never came out good at the School.

"What's your story?" Storm quickly asked.

Lulu turned with mild surprise. "My story?"

"Yeah," he gestured for her to sit. She did so but not too close. "I heard about your escape but how...how was your life in the School?"

Lulu looked down at her arms and sighed softly. She was quiet(er) for a moment before she spoke. "I've been raised in the School since I was a baby. It is - _was_ - my safe place. I-I didn't know too much about o-outside the School. I never asked about it. I never said much either."

"I can tell," he joked.

Her eyes flickered up to him nervously but continued nonetheless. "Some thought I was mute," the ghost of a smile graced her lips, "but Mi...a White Coat knew me well. She dressed me, taught me how to fly, and made sure I was fed well. I-I guess she's what you call a 'mom' or s-something like that."

"Did something happen?" He noticed the way she spoke past tense. Lulu froze, her hands squeezing on her lap. He verbally backpedaled. "Well, I-I mean if something happened. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

He heard her swallow loudly. Lulu's voice trembled slightly as she squeezed out the next words that came out in a whisper.

"She was murdered."

She jumped up abruptly and flew into the sky. Storm watched with saddened eyes as she flew off, her hands wiping her cheeks. He sighed, rising from the ground dusting his pants off. It was only him who could bring up such bad memories when he struck up a conversation. He kicked a rock into the water.

"Great going, Storm," he muttered to himself. "Great going."

* * *

**[A/N] Coloring takes a lot of effort -_-" and it's not even going to be that good. I'm not gonna lie, don't get your hopes up because I'm not very good at drawing (or coloring). I'm redesigning Abigail (and Icarus's face...), smoothing over Shadow, and fixing up Matthew. At this rate I'll never get Lulu in...**

**I'll post the sketches eventually, I'm so sorry for taking so long...**

**BTW, the relationships are developing but cheer on for your favorite pairing if you will, it'll actually help me plenty :D I couldn't decide on whether to introduce Icarus or Storm first so I did both...(hopefully it turned out okay!) Well, one more character left to go guys! Yay me!**

_~LonelyButLovely_


	5. Crash Landing

**Kageki Rin**: Teehee~ danke! Ich schreibt sehr gern ( * ^ ' ^ )7! You finally made an account (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o))) This is so exciting! Your character however will take a while to be introduced (depending on how long it takes me to do all this shizzle...) so hopefully you can be patient! Hontōni arigatogozaimusu! O tanoshimi kudasai! (=´∀｀)人(´∀｀=)  
[ + German, English, Japanese + ] Like a bau5 d(￣ ￣)

**Silverleaf2157**: _Hurr, durr...thanks so much :D I'm happy he's to your liking!_

**FangandIggyRule**:_ Hopefully you liked the squirrel...um...yeah, the squirrel attack...Icarus totally asked for help from a squirrel. Oh, yeah, they do have skills too._

To the rest of you guys:

You all want awesome characters and cool chapters and such but...something's bugging me. A lot. (｀_´)ゞ **This message is for those who submitted characters.**

**[This is a warning - I shall PM you to scold you if you don't leave a review!]**

If I'm going to write something quite awesome and bring life to your characters you should at least review ( ｀∧´) I work hard on these chapters just for you guys and you don't bother to leave behind a tiny review of encouragement...they're very precious to me, reviews I mean. I understand you might be busy and stuff, but if you're going to take the time to read this story, design a complex character, and even request things, you can take a little time to at least review! And I'm going to draw your characters too...(；´Д`A

I'm just saying leave me a review (and saying "_update_" does not count (*｀へ´*) )

I expect some reviews from you guys because quite frankly, I don't have to draw your characters. (Thank **Silverleaf2157** and **FangandIggyRule** for reviewing and saving me from minor depression because they actually read about their characters, leaving long and detailed reviews T^T really, give yourselves a pat on the back!) I'm doing it as a gift because I treasure all my readers! And you guys should have an opportunity for seeing an image of your characters. All I ask it for a review. Really. It's the fifth chapter now. 。・゜・(ノД`)・゜・。 Review!

Now that my rage has passed...(｡-_-｡)...just...just read the well-thought out chapter...

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( ￣ρ￣ )

* * *

With the wind whipping at her face, howling in her ears, and nipping her cheeks, Lulu convinced herself the tears were from the speed. She felt ashamed at herself for becoming so weak at such a time when the strange boy asked her such a question. She held it together before so why? Why did she react differently? What did he say?

_"Did something happen?"_

Did something happen? It was the whole reason she was out in the open with the group of others. She wanted so desperately to just curl up in a ball in a little corner of the world, hiding herself in the shadows were she felt the safest; where she grew up as a child. The shadows whispered things to her, they used to offer her words of comfort and envelop her in their dark embrace when the White Coats finished with her. But after Mimi took her out and taught her to fly, they became close and the shadows stopped whispering to her. But Lulu didn't mind; Mimi was there to be a guiding light through all the darkness Lulu had once known so well.

Lulu looked out at the vastness in front of her. It wasn't the first time she thought about just leaving the group and never going back. The White Coats would find them eventually so it wasn't her problem to deal with. They weren't her responsibility anyway. Abigail, Matthew, Alexis, Icarus and Storm could probably manage on their own now since they were a larger group. They wouldn't trust each other at first, sure, but eventually they could become closer and form their own team. Lulu didn't have to be a part of it; Lulu could be far away by now where no one could find her. But what could she do now?

"I don't know." Lulu whispered to the wind.

* * *

"So we can just start by gathering food," Matthew announced.

"Good plan," Abigail rose from her spot in the dirt. "I'll just look over here. If we find something edible just bring it back to the watering hole. Let's split."

"We should go in pairs," Matt added. "It's dangerous out here, I'm sure so we can work in pairs to be safer. I'm going with Abigail. You two," he said to Icarus and Storm, "can go together since you guys seem close and Alexis..."

Alexis shook her head and sat down by the water. "I think I'll stay here so none of you get lost." Pause. "And I'll wait for Lulu."

"Alright then," Matthew and Abigail started off in the forest. "We meet up in an hour or two so try not to lose track of time."

"On it!" Storm and Icarus disappeared as well.

As Alexis waited, she began playing with the water again. She wondered how she did it and why she could do it. Making little spirals of water, she laid down in her back and began twisting shapes above her head. It came to her naturally, waterbending and twisting the water. It moved fluidly through the air and danced to her command. Alexis didn't question what she did And quickly got used to this new 'talent' of hers. She had been so consumed in her thoughts, she had not realized Lulu had returned.

Lulu had glanced at Alexis who idly amused herself with the water nearby before descending lightly and quietly as to not startle her. She sat near the water and stared at her reflection deep in thought. Her conflicting decisions and opinions were being thrown about in her head in a swirl of chaos. Whether she stayed or left it didn't matter...so why was she even thinking about it?

"Huh, you're back," Alexis interrupted her thoughts.

Lulu nodded.

Alexis stared at her for a moment longer than spoke again. "I honestly didn't think you were going to."

Lulu thought so too but she didn't say so. She shrugged in response.

When they gathered an hour later, sweating and tired, only Matthew had found berries he hoped were edible and a caterpillar which Abigail flung back at him. The group had laughed, relieved they still had a little comedian relief. The berries were distributed evenly through the group after being washed and they began eating. The berries were sour and hard to eat after a few of them but they were starving. Lulu however, scarfed hers down eagerly, even licking her lips and sticky fingers.

Alexis gave up after her fourth berry and handed them to Lulu. Matthew tried his best to finish them because he was so hungry but not even he could finish them and gave the remaining few to Lulu. Abigail did the same.

"Fruit bat," Lulu smiled a little as she finished the last of them.

"Oh," all three of them replied trying to spit out the sour taste.

"If I haven't died or something in like, an hour or so," Abigail groaned. "Let's find something else to eat."

"Agreed," Alexis held her stomach.

"Agreed," Matthew chimed in.

"Totally," Storm tried washing his mouth out with water. Icarus nodded as well.

Lulu shook her head and went to wash her hands. "Full."

"Ugh, how could you eat all that?" Abigail made a face. "It was so sour!"

"I thought it was pretty good," she shook her hands dry.

"I did see some fish in the water before," Alexis suddenly pointed out. "If any of you want some..."

"Well, why didn't you say so earlier?" Matthew went to the edge of the water and looked down. "Let's start a fire and fry'em up."

Alexis set to work in the clear pool while Abigail and Matthew gathered firewood. Icarus created a flame - much to everyone's (minus Storms') surprise. Lulu quickly caught the fish Alexis flung out from the water and placed them in a small pile surrounded by a circular wall of twigs she made beforehand. Then they began grilling the fish over the fire on a stick.

Lulu had cut some open with a claw when they had been slightly dried out and fried the halves over the fire. The fish were small and there weren't too many to eat because Alexis had gotten tired. They scarfed down the cooked meat, scalding their tongues in their haste. Afterwards, they seemed content and buried their leftovers as to not attract any unwanted visitors.

"So what's the plan?" Abigail asked licking her lips.

"Lulu can teach us landing," Matt smiled gently at her as she swept the ashes back into the dirt. "I could use some practice."

"Icarus and I are pretty good with that." Storm chimed in.

"I could use the help," Alexis added.

"Me too," Abigail burped. "Excuse me."

Ignoring her burp, Matthew looked at Lulu for confirmation. Lulu shrugged and exhaled. "Why not?"

"Great," Matthew stood and extended his wings. "What should we do first?"

Abigail and Alxeis followed suit. Lulu extended her wings as well and gently flew upwards gesturing for them to do the same. They flew a little over fifty feet from the ground and Lulu began going back down. The trio followed and landed on their feet softly.

"That was too easy," Abigail snorted.

Lulu went up again and began flying in circles. They followed. Lulu increased her speed. They did too. She began lowering herself and angled her body towards the ground. They did the same. Lulu quickly did a few somersaults through the air and skid to a stop on the ground. She quickly flew up again knowing how the next scene was to play out.

Abigail attempted a flip in the air and landed in a tree, angling down too fast. Alexis has gotten the timing right, but hadn't watched where she was headed and landed in the foliage with a shake of leaves. Matthew had gone down too fast and sped past Lulu, splashing into the pool of water.

_I've got a lot to work on,_ Lulu thought with a sigh. The White Coats must've never tested them with rougher terrain unlike Lulu who had been occasionally taken out with Mimi during Eraser training into the jungle room the School had.

After a few more attempts - and maybe two hours with pointers from Icarus and Storm - they began to land soundly. Though not perfect, they had improved greatly since they first started. They began landing a little straighter and began actually making it to the strip of landing they had eventually dug into the ground with their multiple attempts. The dirt flew up as they began skidding. As they began getting sloppy again, Lulu told them to stop and rest. The sweaty trio nodded to her gratefully and got some water to soothe their parched throats.

Lulu wiped the light layer of sweat on her own forehead away and exhaled. It had been a long lesson but they could now land without crashing into things - including each other. Matthew had come up with an idea where they could signal each other with their feathery tips to show how they were to land and when. Lulu looked back at her own wings and shrugged to herself; she wouldn't need it.

Abigail sighed with a happy grin and looked at Matt who had the same look. Alexis was creating slow waves in the water while idly sitting cross-legged on a rock with her wings lazily let down behind her. Lulu cooled herself off in the shade; the sun had nearly made her faint after being exposed for so long. She fanned herself with her hand and shut her eyes. It was much better when it was dark. Icarus and Storm were busy chatting and arguing about Lionel.

"I think we did a pretty good job today," Matthew announced to all of them. "And thanks to Lulu, we know how to land without killing ourselves! Thanks Lulu!"

Lulu briefly opened her eyes and shut them again.

"I'll take that as a 'you're welcome!'" Matthew ran a hand through his hair exhaling loudly. "And we can all take a well-earned rest, right guys?"

"I guess," Abigail muttered slinking off into the shade.

"Mmm..." Alexis played with the water absentmindedly.

"It was nice talking to you guys," Matthew sighed plopping down where he stood.


	6. Chapter 6

"Let us begin the tale with a heroic beginning - "

"Shut _up_." Four voices said in unison.

Storm exhaled sharply. "Sheesh, tough crowd."

"If you even _attempt_ to tell us one of your lame made up stories _ever_ again," Abigail warned him, "I will cut off your freakin' balls and feed them to Lionel!"

Lionel chittered in response to his name and jumped from Icarus to Storm then to Abigail. He jumped up again and went back to Icarus, settling on his shoulder. All of them were completely worn out, another day of training over. This time, not so long. And not too many crashes - into each other that is.

Alexis sighed as she pulled another twig from her hair. "Well, look on the bright side..." she paused then looked at Storm. "Oh wait, **there isn't."**

He looked personally offended. "Well, excuse me for trying to start a conversation. I just think we should um...you know, bond or whatnot."

"Great idea!" Matthew replied cheerily before a heated argument could start.

"It is?" The group chorused doubtfully.

"Yes! Of course," he looked at them all with a smile. "Okay, look, I'll start."

"Oh, brother." Abigail crossed her arms.

He ignored that. "Well, let's see...I was raised by my parents. In a house. Though it wasn't really a happy family...you see, it was kind of like I didn't exist. Quite depressing really, being ignored all my life. But then - get this - I was kidnapped from home when I was ten. But I can't remember what happened after that...I did meet Abby. That's a good thing...right?"

She smacked his head as he chuckled. Rolling her blue eyes, she exhaled. "I'll go next, I guess." She put a hand to her chin. "Well, I guess I don't have the best family. My parents were drug and alcohol addicts, they liked to beat me and I was sold to the school for money. Is that enough? Or should I add more? Like how I suddenly sprouted wings?"

The group laughed at her lame attempt to joke. Storm sighed to himself and ran a hand through his hair. "I'll go next. I don't actually know my parents so...yeah. I've always lived in the lab with Icarus over there but I only met him during one of my escapades. Really, I'm an awesome escape artist."

"That's why he always woke up in his cage," Icarus whispered comically.

Storm chuckled. "Though when I was about thirteen, I got hurt pretty badly. But it looks pretty badassery I mean, with this awesome eyepatch they gave me and all...they even let me color it. Isn't that just wonderful?"

"How did you get hurt?" Alexis asked leaning forward.

"Well, Eraser obviously," Storm shook his head. "It was one wrong turn. I mean, suddenly - BAM! - he was there and I was missing an eye. Haha, and I don't even know how I survived that one."

"It's a good thing though," Icarus sighed. "I'll go next. Like Storm here, I've grown up at the lab all my life. I met him a while back and then because of one of his 'escapades' we were both caught and thrown in the same prison. Honestly, after a while they just kind of lumped us together and kept it that way and we were actually transferring to be sold or whatnot. But there was this loud alarm during our shipping and then everyone was panicking and...yeah. I can also set things on fire 'cause I'm so hot."

"And he talks to squirrels," Storm chimed in.

"You know, Storm, you're just jealous I can talk to animals," he concluded jutting out his chin.

"Ooh, I can't wait to talk to squirrels and chipmunks," he retorted. "I'm sooooo jealous, Ick, seriously."

"I'll go next!" Alexis quickly volunteered intervening their petty argument. "Umm, well...I was taken when I was about four..." she smiled and crossed her legs. "And that's all I can remember, 'kay?"

"That was probably one of the most riveting stories I've ever heard," Icarus commented. "Care to tell it again?"

"Oh stop being sarcastic," Storm punched his arm lightly.

"What? I was being dead serious."

"Break it up you two," Abigail rolled her eyes. "Honestly, between talking squirrels and missing eyeballs...I'll go with the squirrels anyday."

Icarus smirked triumphantly. "In. Your. Face."

"What? It was just a joke," Storm crossed his arms. "I mean, squirrels are pretty cool..."

Lionel chittered from Icarus' shoulder. Icarus laughed and said something back which received the strange gaze of all of them. When he looked back, he blinked. "What? Can't a guy talk to his squirrel without being gawked at?"

"That talking thing..." Abigal said. "I'm not going to kid you, that's probably the weirdest thing I've ever heard. And that's saying something because, hehe, I've heard _plenty_ of strange things in my life."

"I'm agreeing with her on that," Matthew raised an eyebrow.

"Ditto for me," Alexis said staring at Lionel.

"It was weird the first time but weirder the second," Storm commented. "And did he just insult me?"

"Lionel? Nah, he's just kidding," Icarus' smirk, however, wasn't all that convincing.

"Seriously," Storm stared down the the squirrel. "Did I just get insulted by a squirrel? Because I've got a few things to say if he did - "

Matthew clapped his hands loudly. "Would you look at that? One more to go! Settle down guys, it's only a squirrel."

Storm harrumphed. "Fine."

All eyes were on Lulu. She looked at all of them, fidgeting uncomfortably. "I-I...I don't know what a 'family' is but it doesn't seem pleasant. I grew up in the lab all my life..." she paused, glancing up before lowering her eyes again. "Um, I did have...a 'mom' though, I think. Her name...she was...Mimi. She took care of me before she um, d-died. And I escaped. So here I am."

There was silence. Now, the other stories weren't exactly fit for a storybook but the way they were told were comically said in a way that was lighthearted. Lulu, however, had the darkest tale to tell being so hesitant and nervous. To laugh would be like a joke. To pity her was stupid seeing as they suffered something so alike. What was the right way to respond?

"S-so," Storm stammered to interrupt the silence. "What's the plan here? We can't live in the woods like a bunch of animals forever. We should do something. Like, I don't know, find some civilization and settle down..." he stopped when he got weird looks. "What? It's not like anyone else has great ideas."

"Touché," Matt nodded.

"I, for one, agree with Storm," Alexis piped up. "Well, the finding civilization part. But the settling down part...do we look like a happy family to you?"

"A happy family of freaks," Abigail muttered under her breath.

"Precisely," Alexis said. "A happy family? How are we - orphaned mutants - supposed to find happy homes? Does this look like the game of Life to you?"

"Well, if we don't settle then what should we do?" Storm shot back.

"Well," Matthew rose. "We should run."

"Run?" Storm and Alexis turned their heads.

"Yeah!" Matthew opened his wings. "Up, up and away!"

There was a roar as dark figures raced out of the the trees. Malicious laughter echoed after them as the hunters found their prey. Dozens began appearing, cackling and snapping at the air. But they had already taken off, in the air all six of them. Lionel, however was left in the rush; now scampering away as many other woodland creatures did.

Lulu, hearing his whimpering chitters, looked back. He was scampering from treetop to treetop, keeping pace with them. She heard the crash of branches as the Erasers trampled through and swallowed. She had one shot, one chance, to save him. A squirrel. Lulu dived back.

Icarus, distracted by the sudden chase, hardly noticed. But after a moment, he realized he left his new friend behind. Was it worth it? To save a squirrel? Was it really worth it? He decided it was. Turning back, he -

"Here!" Lulu shouted tossing him Lionel.

"W-wh - !" He caught the small mammal as it flew through the air, small arms outstretched.

_'Ick leave Lio! Bloody fool! Bloody fool!'_

"Sorry," he muttered as he placed him in his jacket.

Lulu and Icarus quickly caught up to the group and followed behind. The dark swarm of Erasers howled below them as they flew farther and farther away before disappearing completely. They flew straight just flying and not thinking of where to go. Eventually, the scenery changed, becoming spotted with small houses and large fields. Without a word, they began diving down towards the open fields. Alexis and Abigail tripped on some rather large pumpkins but otherwise, they were all fine. Well...maybe not all fine.

Alexis and Abigail had landed first while the others scouted above and waited for a clearing. However, one had jerky flight and seemed to slide back and forth in the sky.

Lulu's vision was slightly dark now, the sun also setting behind them. Usually, it was better during the night time since it wasn't as blindingly bright but her sight was tunneling and she sweated profusely. She placed a hand on her throbbing abdomen and clenched her other hand. Panting, she heard them as they switched their wings downwards and began landing beneath her. A ringing sounded in her ears as she spiraled down to the ground. The world shift and blurred as the wind whipped past her.

"C-can't..." she wheezed falling.

"Lulu? !"

_'Bloody fool! Bloody fool!'_

"Shut up, Lio," Icarus hissed as the squirrel popped out.

Lulu slowed down her flight and flapped her wings sparingly, dropping a few feet every now and then. She seemed to stagger in the air then, moments before she hit the ground, stopped flapping, she collapsed with her wings splayed out around her; shaking and twitching.

Abigail and Alexis - being the ever so concerned people they were - brushed off the dirt from their tumble and quickly rushed to her side. She fell back and exhaled shakily, watching as the world faded in and out. Alexis and Abigail didn't know what to do - or expect.

"What the hell did she do?" Abigail hissed pulled her hand back from the sweaty girl.

"Is this a bat sickness?" Alexis adjusted her stance. "Because I don't know anything about this stuff."

"N-no..." Lulu whispered sitting up. "C-cold...I'm fine. Need to sleep."

"We need to keep moving," Abigail pointed out. She peered at her closely. "But Lulu, why are you so tired?" Abigail was no superman but she wasn't as tired as Lulu...which was kind of strange. "You even ate more than the rest of us..."

Matthew quickly landed and jogged to them, stopping nearby. "What's up?"

"Lulu's...tired, I think," Abigail wasn't too sure.

"Lulu? No," he said in disbelief. "She's flown more than the rest of us; she shouldn't be tired yet."

Storm and Icarus quickly followed up. Icarus quickly went to his knees and removed her hands, smelling it before even seeing it.

"What on earth are you doing?" Storm gaped at him.

"She's bleeding!" Icarus had begun to understand. Lionel was telling him earlier but he thought he was just insulting him. (_Wha-aat?_ He's a squirrel...)

"Oh," Abigail brushed her hair back uncertainly. "I didn't know that...what should we do?"

"House. Supplies." Alexis nodded and they both took of running towards the house at the end of the field.

"Mhm...just c-cold," Lulu stood up shakily and shook her wings slightly. "Quit it...don't touch..."

She fell again. Icarus quickly caught her and held her in a standing position. "You're kind of an idiot. Did you know that?"

Her eyelids fluttered shut. "Not...idiot..."

"Where exactly is she bleeding, Ick?" Storm glanced back at the house. "And what're we supposed to do?"

"I'm not a doctor," Icarus looked back at him. "But I know - because it's common sense - that you have to stop the bleeding."

"I knew that," Storm huffed indignantly. "Check where she's bleeding, I mean, what if she...gets sick?"

"Here!" Abigail tossed a white roll in the air as well as what looked like a sheet. "Found it outside! And the house was unlocked! Nobody there!"

Matthew caught it and the sheet. Lulu batted Icarus and Matthew away, staggering and wobbling towards the girls. "H-hey...water?"

"Definitely!" Abigail piped cracking open a bottle in her hand. "I even got some food, isn't that awesome? Real edible food."

Lulu took a swig from the bottle and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand then suddenly snapped up. "Hey, news flash. I'm only bleeding here," she pointed to her side. "Nasty scratch from an Eraser but I am a-ok. I'm just tired. And cold."

Abigail - though disturbed by the sudden attitude - lifted her shirt and saw the raw wound. It seemed extremely red compared to her pale skin, lightly bleeding. It wasn't enough to 'cause death, Abigail knew from experience, but if Lulu flew with this...her blue eyes darted to her pale face. "Lulu, you need to get this cleaned."

"What? Cleaned?" Lulu laughed obnoxiously loud. "I saved a squirrel; isn't that good enough? Nasty scratch but I'm fine, okay? Fine. Now, I need a blanket. Or some heat..." she eyed the boys as they stood off to the side. Grinning, she stumbled towards them with her hands outstretched. "Heeeeeey, you guys look so waaaarm."

She glomped onto Icarus in the middle and nuzzled his neck, wrapping her arms around his neck. He widened his eyes in alarm as Matthew and Storm backed away slowly. Now, you know Lulu pretty well by now, right? Well, this is probably going to be the weirdest thing she's ever done. And if you think it's weird, you should see her comrades.

"Um, Lulu?" Icarus put his hands out to push her away. "We need to check your wound. So, if you could just - "

"Ohmigoooosh, Ick," she giggled. "You are soooo warm. Isn't he warm guys? Oh god, I could just hug him forever, you know? Just, gosh, you're so waaaarm."

Abigail already figured out that maybe eating unknown berries in a forest were dangerous. For living proof, look at the lunatic Lulu. What is wrong with her at the moment? Someone tell anyone in the group because no one could be more freaked out than Lulu - if she remembered anything later.

"Should we restrain her...?" Matthew whispered.

"Definitely," she whispered back.

* * *

[**A/N**] My apologies for who whoever is actually reading this story now...I agreed that I will upload with a picture every chapter now until I've finished all characters. I think I will post up Shadow next because I've enjoyed drawing her...or Matt...but I've had a helluva hard time figuring out just what Icarus should look like...

Uh...yeah. I will say when I've put up links but I hoped you enjoyed the story. I have almost finished Icarus... If I have time, I'll upload the next chapter tomorrow (hopefully with a link this time!).

Reviews are well-appreciated.

_~LonelyButLovely_


	7. Chapter 7

"So you're saying Lulu's nuts because of berries?" Icarus stared at the squirrel.

_'Yes.'_

"And you didn't stop us _why?_" He gave him a pointed look.

Lionel stood. _'Nuts. Lio likes nuts.'_

"So you're saying you let us eat some hallucinatory berries because of _nuts_?"

Lionel nodded. _'People in white grow berries. Called Dizzy Berry. Lio tried once - not good.'_

Icarus smacked his forehead with a big sigh. "I don't even know...well are we going to be affected?"

Nod. _'Not too bad. You live.'_

Icarus groaned, pulling at his collar as he sweated. Lulu had been strapped down to a chair in the house they found. It seemed to belong to some old couple that was currently on vacation - it said so on the calendar and they figured out the date by looking at the digital clock. They'd be gone for another week so they decided to stay for a few days since there was no other plan.

"I'm not a raving lunatic," Lulu was saying. "I'm just getting so hot now."

"Oh god," Abigail groaned rolling her eyes.

"I can't believe this," Matt sighed. "Lulu's raving mad at the moment...does Lio know how long this will last?"

Icarus glared at the small mammal.

_'Human? No. Lio dizzy for one day. Lio don't know for girl.'_

"And us?"

_'Lio don't know.'_

"Is it just me or is it getting hot?" Alexis giggled fanning herself with a magazine. "I mean, like really guys, isn't it just roasting in here? And what's with this snake on the couch? It follows me everywhere!"

Matthew looked at her worriedly as she stared at her black tail. Abigail only shook her head with an exasperated sigh. "There goes another one."

"Okay, who brought the berries again?" Storm looked around the room.

Icarus and Abigail chorused, "Matthew."

Matthew widened his eyes. "It's not like I'm a freakin' boy scout guys! I mean, come on, how was I supposed to know they were funky berries?"

"Fufufu, look at it do a funny dance! Look guys! _Look!"_

About an hour later, Matthew (who was convinced the pillows had it out for him then shouting, "Watch it! I have a pen*s and I'm not afraid to use it!"), Storm and Abigail succumbed to the craziness. Icarus succeeded in trapping them in the bathroom - save for the raving lunatic in the kitchen. Lulu was giggling hysterically at absolutely nothing while the others seemingly had a party with Alexis' snake. He could hear them laughing and saying crazy things about pretty colors and even something about a dancing turtle. Icarus felt hot and sweaty as he sat across from Lulu. The world was a little hazy at best but he still had his sanity in check. He looked across at the clock. The glowing green numbers read 2:04 in the morning. Lulu had been like this for about...six hours? They got there around eight when they got inside. Lulu's wound had been tended to but surprisingly healed over and was now a pale scar on her torso - not that she cared. She had eaten the most berries and had the longest personality switch so far. Icarus, thankfully, tried about two berries before spitting them out.

"Excuse me - hey! - you there!"

Hearing her voice so loudly was probably not to be heard after this again. He pressed his ears flat to his head and wrinkled his nose. The dried blood still stuck to her clothes seeing as it was difficult enough to get her to stay still so they could heal her wound. They also couldn't have her sitting shirtless either so she was strapped to a chair in the end.

"Are you deaf or what? Get me milk and cookies! I demand cookies this very instant! Hey! Are you listening? GIVE ME THE DAMNED COOKIES!"

Icarus rumbled a low growl in his throat. Lulu was getting extremely irritating. She was constantly demanding something and hadn't even showed any signs of returning to her normal self. Icarus couldn't stand her constant shouting and was thankful the house was in a large section of land, the nearest house being miles away. He slumped forward on the table, arms folded and gazed ahead vacantly. He'd gotten good at tuning out noise.

"Fine!" Lulu harrumphed. "Be that way you senseless jerk!"

She became still and only glowered silently fuming. Icarus sighed inaudibly in relief and shut his eyes. He was a bit tired from watching everyone and needed some rest. Lionel hopped onto the table from his cozy spot on the couch and chittered loudly.

_'Ick shouldn't sleep. Need to watch crazies.'_

"Don't wanna," he yawned.

Lionel danced on his head. _'Lio will poop. Listen to Lio.'_

Icarus swatted him off his head but he returned. "Bug off..."

_'Poop? Lio poops now.'_

Icarus jerked back up, sending the squirrel onto the floor with a startled squeak. He turned his head to glare at him then resumed staring off into space. The only noises in the house was the crazy talk from the bathroom and the tick of a clock in the living room. Lio triumphantly went back to getting cozy on the couch. Sighing, Icarus got up to get something to eat. He might as well seeing as forest berries didn't do them any good. He looked in the pantry and picked out things the people wouldn't miss when they returned. He reached for the can of peaches and shut the cabinet door and peeled the can open before rummaging through all the drawers for a fork. He then settled back against the counter and began eating quietly. He glanced at Lulu as she glowered silently, silvery blue eyes narrowed and a small frown upon her mouth.

He held out the can. "Peaches?"

She instantly brightened as if she'd never glowered. "Really? Peaches? As in, the _fruit_ peaches?"

He looked back in the can then shrugged. "Well, yeah. I mean, peaches...is there any other kind?"

Lulu grinned widely. "Gimme! I totally want some of those delicious peaches!"

He stood from the counter, holding out a peach in the fork. He looked as if he were about to hand it to her then smirked, pulling it away from her eagerly open mouth. "Just kiddin'."

Lulu snapped her mouth closed and pouted, slightly annoyed. She could smell the peaches and they were going to be damned delicious! "Stop joking and feed me!"

Icarus snickered; annoyed Lulu was funny and amusing. At least it helped him pass the time. "Okay, okay, fine. Because I'm nice."

He held out the peach again and let her take a bite. Lulu chewed it quickly and opened her mouth for another bite. Icarus rolled his eyes and held it out again. Lulu leaned forward and opened her mouth to take a bite - only to snap on empty air. She glared at him as he held it inches away from her face. He laughed again at her annoyed expression.

Lulu exhaled in frustration. "Quit it and give it!"

Icarus only grinned in amusement. He taunted her with the peach then held it out again, letting her take a bite. She chewed it slowly this time, eyeing him warily. Icarus ate one himself, only watching her thoughtfully. He held out another peach for her. Lulu waited a moment and hesitated as she neared the peach, waiting for him to pull it away. He didn't. She nibbled the corner then took a bigger bite. She leaned back enjoying her sweet peach. Icarus ate another for himself as he finished the other then held out another one for her. She leaned forward to take a bite then he took it away again. He leaned forward this time, grinning knowing he had the upper hand. Lulu practically seethed visible waves of irritation as he held the peach in his right hand next to him. He was close to her face, wiggling his eyebrows at her distressed state. She wanted the peach and he wanted a game.

"You're a very cruel person," she concluded narrowing her eyes slightly.

"I'm just teasing," he chuckled innocently.

Lulu snorted then paused, formulating a plan. They were still, each staring into the eyes of each other and daring the other to make a move; green staring into silvery blue. His eyes widened as she jerked forward, planting a brusque peck on his cheek and took one of her claws to free herself, grasping the forked peach and taking it from his hand - all in four seconds. Lulu then sat back, crossing her legs and chomping on her peach triumphantly. He was frozen in place, staring at the small girl in front of him who only look pleased with herself.

"Serves you right," she huffed finishing off the last of her slice.

He stood up and only rolled his eyes, "You caught me off-guard."

"Did I?" Lulu giggled. "My bad."

Icarus turned after giving her the can to check up the others who were strangely silent. He opened the door to the bathroom slowly. Alexis' giggle was the first thing he heard. Then Abigail and Matthew's snigger and Storm's amused chuckle. Icarus opened the door and all of them were huddled on the floor. They all looked at him like children who were waiting for someone to set off one of their prank traps. He didn't move just in case. Alexis stood first.

"Icarus, be honest," she crossed her arms. "I want you to explain why all of us are trapped in a bathroom with the door locked. If it weren't for the 'leave the place as we found it' rule, I'd have kicked this door down by now. So explain."

"Well, you were looney. 'Nuff said."

"I was?" Abigail widened her eyes. "What'd I do?"

"Well, I noticed after you started talking to the lamp." Icarus shrugged. "I didn't go looney. You two guys though, started talking to the couches and arguing with the pillows..."

All of them filed out, flipping off the light switch and joining in the lit kitchen where a sleeping Lulu sat at the table, an empty peach can laying on it's side and her propping up her head with her hand, a fork with a half-eaten peach on the other end. And Icarus was only gone for about five minutes.

"You think she'll be fine?" Abigail rubbed her eyes. "Gah, I have this godawful headache."

The others agreed with a small nod.

"She might wake up the old Lulu," Storm shrugged tiredly. "I'm just going to pass out on the couch now."

"I call the other..." Matthew yawned following him to the living room.

Alexis and Abigail studied Lulu as she softly breathed and smile a bit. She kinda looked like a child who just got back from some kind of party. They then looked at Icarus with a knowing smirk. Alexis cocked her head to one side.

"I know what she did," she giggled innocently as she bypassed him to go to one of the bedrooms.

"We all do," Abigail followed Alexis to sleep.

Icarus felt heat creep up on his cheeks and blamed the heat rush on the berries. He took one last glance at Lulu then turned off the light and went to the living room, falling asleep on the floor after stealing a pillow from Storm. Another exciting day with the bird kids. Typical.

* * *

I awoke to the sound of birds and lifted my head slowly. I was aware of the light streaming in from the windows and blinked my eyes tiredly yawning. I shut my eyes again as the light seemed to pierce them. My head hurt. A lot. And my tongue felt kinda fuzzy while my whole brain felt as if it was stuffed with cotton. My ears adjusted to the peaceful silence of my surrounding and I opened my eyes slightly.

I was in the kitchen tightly clutching a fork in my hand - at least I think it was my hand. I unclenched my fist and slowly raised my head all the way, slowly opening my eyes to adjust. An empty can was on its side, a small puddle of sweet-smelling syrup forming. I licked my lips. Yeah, that empty can was probably because of me. I wonder what happened after I blacked out. I honestly can't remember a thing after crashing. Just being incredibly hot.

I stood on wobbly legs, almost falling as I began walking. I washed my hands and face, waking myself up and pausing to compose myself. I heard a creak behind me and stiffened, jerking my body around out of habit. I swayed a little but just barely and met the gaze of Storm. He smiled politely.

"Morning," his voice seemed as if it were underwater.

I shook my head and squeezed my eyes shut then opened them again. I opened my mouth to reply but all that came out was, "_Mooo..._"

"Ah, you're head hurts right?" Storm chuckled then walked beside me, reaching behind my shoulder and then revealing a small white bottle that rattled. It resembled what they used to have at the School. "Take one or two of these with water and you should feel better in a while."

I twisted off the cap easily then peered at the small capsules at the bottom cautiously. I sniffed it. It didn't smell particularity dangerous...

"It's fine," Storm handed me a cup of water. "Seriously, just take some and you'll feel better."

I shook out one to try it and set the white container down, eating the capsule. I made a face as the bitter powder landed on my tongue.

Storm laughed at my expression. "You're supposed to drink the water quickly so you don't taste it."

I gulped down the water and set the cup down, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. It washed away some of the taste but some still lingered. I waited a moment just in case I suddenly started spazzing or felt even dizzier but there seemed to be nothing abnormal whatsoever. I nodded to Storm in thanks and stumbled past him to collapse on the chair I was in earlier. I exhaled heavily and propped my head up on my hand, watching Storm carefully. He only smiled at me and washed the cup before setting it back in the cupboard. Shortly afterwords, he sat down across from me.

"Oh, you're both up," Abigail sleepily shuffled in. "Is everyone alright? I counted to make sure everyone was here and they're all sleeping."

"Lulu's got a headache but we're both fine," he answered for me.

Abigail looked at me for confirmation. I nodded my head slowly. Too fast and I'd probably puke. I puked once before and it wasn't too pleasant. It had left a bitter acrid taste in my mouth and Mimi hadn't been too happy about it either.

"I can't believe what happened last night," she shuffled through the cabinets for food and grabbed some crackers. "I'm also extremely hungry; you guys?"

I shook my head not too sure if I could hold anything solid down at the moment. My stomach gurgled in agreement. I groaned and rested my eyes too tired to care about what went around me. I heard them chat quietly as they munched on crackers, the others starting to stir in their sleep. Alexis rose first, joining them in the kitchen. Abigail greeted her before going to rise the last two up. I blocked out their conversations to save my headache from getting worse. After a couple more minutes, I began hearing normally again and my headache faded away slowly.

"Man, I feel like I've been hit in the head with a baseball bat repeatedly," Matthew scratched his head with a yawn.

I peered at him curiously. "What is a 'baseball bat?'"

All eyed turned on me. "You don't know?" they chorused in unison.

I shook my head.

"Err, well," Matthew tried to explain. "It's a giant wooden stick used to play a game."

I imagined some giant branch trying to...what? "A game?"

"A baseball game," Abigail added in. "It where you run around on the bases after you hit the baseball."

"I do not understand," I was actually more confused.

"Well, let's just say it's a polished stick of wood," Storm concluded simply. "Now let's make some breakfast!"

"I'm going to watch some tv," Abigail waved him off. "I haven't watched it for ages and I'm just dying to see some cracked up cartoons."

"I think I'll join," Alexis said curious.

"What is a 'cartoon?'" I asked.

"Animated drawings," Storm replied looking at me strangely. "Do you know what a tv is?"

I shook my head.

"It's like a big monitor - you know what that is don't you?"

I nodded. Mimi always showed me the monitor when she took samples from me. It was always white and flat though...

"They have cable! Praise the Cods!" Abigail called out from the living room.

"Uh, I'm pretty sure it's 'Gods,'" Matthew corrected her.

"Cods, Gods whatever," Abigail began flipping through the channels. "They're pretty much the same people..."

Matthew rolled his eyes with a sigh at his naive friend. Storm continue looking at me as he explained. "Well, just go in and see for yourself."

Lulu was distracted by all the new electronics in the house; the washer, the dryer, the microwave, the toaster and even the iron. She seemed to be more likable now that she had shaken off some of her cold and distant self - probably a (hopefully) lasting effect of the berries. Lulu wasn't even sure what to look at next and became fascinated with an electronic toothbrush. But she moved on when she found a small, compact flat silver thing.

Lulu picked it up. It was a little bigger than her hands and about one inch thick. She pulled at the top thinking it was a strange book then wrinkled her brow as a strange keyboard and black screen opened. It was like...a computer. But she had never seen one so small before, hardly paying attention to her surroundings back when she was in the School. She pushed a button knowing it was the power button since she'd seen the same symbol on a bunch of other things. It made a buzzing sound then began humming to life, the screen flickering on.

"You find money?" Icarus asked Storm.

"A lot of money," he replied holding up a suitcase. "Really, this is almost ridiculous. There must be almost a thousand dollars in here!"

"Nice!" Icarus grinned.

Storm grinned back then glanced at Lulu. "What's that you've got there?"

"A mini-computer," she replied best to her knowledge.

"That is called a laptop you poor electronically-deprived child," Abigail came in from another room. "It's a pretty small one but it good for traveling."

Lulu looked at it as small icons began appearing on the desktop of wild flowers. "Can I keep it?"

"If you have the power for it," she shrugged. "Otherwise it'll become useless."

"Okay," she nodded.

* * *

_*I'm going to put the pic links of your OCs on my profile so check it out when I announce it!_

**Silv - **_I've honestly never heard of Rachel's challenge...I looked it up and it's a bit sad. Well, we could all use a little kindness, huh?_ :)_  
_

[***EDIT***] Icarus' link is at my profile. If it shows...it told me it was on there but...i dunno, I keep checking and nothing's there T^T you'll have to look for 'Icarus kitana411' on dA if it doesn't work...I'm sure you'll find Icarus.

[**A/N**] Yeah, yeah, finished my chapter with my fingers intact. Uh, no set plot to this story so far. It's getting somewhere at least. And I'm not sure who the pairings are yet - sorry for making it so long and confusing but you know, vote for favorites, I'm just tossing the possibilities here... The Dizzy Berries were made up by me and they're hybrids the School created. Was the OOCness okay? I dunno...hopefully I can incorporate more of the other characters in without outshining the other like I am now. (Ah, cripes **auraspirt157**, I'm doing it again)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Abigail, Storm, Icarus and Matthew. Only Lulu; my sweet, darling, lunatic.

**Kageki Rin**: _Your character? She shall appear eventually...I promise :3 (She's probably raiding the storage for edibles behind the scenes anyway!)_

_~LonelyButLovely_


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